The Death Room
by PrisonerPadfoot
Summary: Harry is in for the fight of his life. Its just him and Voldemort. Will he overcome his opponent or die trying? Complete. AU, written way before DH.
1. Chapter 1

Where was he? How did he get there? These were some of the many thoughts swimming through Harry's mind as he regained consciousness. The world was dark and blurry as he opened his eyes. He found that he was laying flat on his stomach, but couldn't make out much else since his glasses were gone. He thrust a hand out in front of him to feel around for them, and sure enough, there they were, staring him in the face. He jammed them on his head. He took the time to examine the room, and in a second he knew were he was. There was a large stone dais in the center of the room, and archway draped in a silky black cloth was perched on top. It was The Death Room. The same room where he had lost his godfather Sirius Black to death. A white hot anger bubbled up inside his chest as he stood up. He knew exactly why he was here, and he was prepared to meet the challenge before him.

Harry heard voices from behind him. He whipped around, drawing his wand from his pocket. There in a semi-circle, stood many hooded figures. Death Eaters. Their faces were completely obscured, but he knew from a sick feeling in his heart that they were laughing at his pain. They said nothing as he looked them over. Just then without a warning, his scar seared with pain. He did his best to not show signs of anguish in the Death Eaters eyes. But no matter how hard he tried, he still winced, his eyes watering. Snickering went up from the lot of them, all staring down upon him like ravenous vultures, eager to see him flinch and moan in pain. They were quickly silenced. Harry slapped his hand over his face as his scar throbbed.

" Turn around Potter," said a malicious voice from behind, " Turn around and face me."

Harry did as he was told, all the while knowing who the voice belonged to. He then found himself looking into the red, slitted eyes of pure evil. His archrival. It was Voldemort himself, returned to full power, and more villainous than ever before.

" Voldemort," Harry whispered.

" Yes, yes Potter, it is I. I think you already know why I have brought you here, do you not?" he smiled coldly. Harry however remained silent and stone-faced. " I have waited years for this moment, Harry. Years. Sixteen miserable years to be exact!" he fumed, but quickly calmed himself. " I suppose you have already heard the prophecy. That neither of us can live while the other survives? Well, tonight one of us will meet our death, Harry and the prophecy will be fulfilled. Tonight, you meet your end, Harry Potter! Bow for a duel!"

Harry bowed and Voldemort did the same, his evil grin never wavering. They pointed their wands at one another, ready for battle.

" Scared?" Voldemort asked.

" You better damn well believe I'm not scared of you," said Harry viciously, " I never was." Voldemort laughed.

" Crucio!" the spell went hurdling at Harry, but he was ready for it. He dove to his right.

" Expelliarmus!" he shouted. With a flash of white light, Voldemort's wand went flying into the crowd of Death Eaters. One of them jumped up, caught the wand and had thrown it back to her master with a hearty evil laugh.

" Thank you, Bellatrix," he said as he caught it, " But I beg you, let me handle this duel on my own, thank you! Crucio!" as Harry had been concentrated on his burning scar, he did not have any time to dodge the spell. It hit him full force. He was thrown backwards, twitching and yelling in agony.

He could hear Death Eaters, and even Voldemort himself laughing insanely as the spell subsided. But he could not give in. He must stay in this duel. He had suffered this curse before and had never thrown in the towel, so why should he now? Why so early into the game? As he got to his knees, he could hear two voices battling in his head.

_You can't do this Harry, _one said, _You know you can't kill him! Just give up and die now! Save yourself the anguish! _But the next voice was even more powerful.

_Damn you Harry! Get off the floor and fight! _ _You can't let him win! The scumbag murdered your parents! If it wasn't for his Death Eaters, Sirius would be alive! Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!_

Without a second thought, Harry obeyed the second, more malicious voice. He roared, "Crucio!" the spell hit Voldemort head-on. He was now as Harry had never seen him: in pain. He screamed with pure cold fury and he writhed and winced. Harry's spell had been powerful. He wanted to see Voldemort suffer with all his soul, and a spell of that magnitude would not wear off for awhile.

Infuriated, the Death Eaters had failed to obey their master's orders and not interfere. They had started aiming spells at Harry. One by one, with a bit of quick thinking, and a few close-called blocks, Harry had managed to remain almost completely unscathed. A single spell had got past him and grazed his left arm. It was now bleeding wildly, but he paid not attention to it. He was now busy watching Voldemort get to his feet and yell at his followers.

" I said no assistance!" he yelled. " Crucio!" once again Harry dodged the spell.

" Redeemus!" said Harry. Voldemort's eyes began to bleed as Harry again raised his wand. " Redeemus!" his enemy's condition from there worsened. The bleeding was immense. There was now a puddle of blood surrounding him.

But even through a mouthful of blood, Voldemort still managed to scream,

" Adava Kedavra!" it was the killing curse, completely unblockable. What was Harry to do? He was dead for sure. Or was he?


	2. Chapter 2

Just then, and idea dawned upon him, and idea sure to save his life. In a split second, he had climbed up onto the dais, and ducked behind the covered archway, shielding his eyes. The curse followed. It entered through the archway, but never came out the other side. It was completely absorbed, leaving Harry untouched. Voldemort screamed with rage. Harry then jumped off the dais and ducked down behind it as Voldemort walked closer, his wand held so tight in his fist that it was liable to snap in two. Harry peered out from behind the dais as another painful curse was aimed at him. He evaded it by millimeters.

" Where are you, Potter!"

Just as he finished his sentence Harry jumped to his feet and caught him by surprise. "Crucio!" he roared. Voldemort twitched and yelled in agony once more, but this time Harry's spell was less heartfelt and therefore less effective. Voldemort quickly shook himself from its hold.

From there all Harry saw was a flash of gleaming metal. Before he could do so much as blink, his right cheek had been sliced open. He wiped the warm blood from his face as the dagger which had slashed him circled around and flew back into it's master's hand. All of a sudden, Harry was feeling quite dizzy, his vision became unfocused.

" Feeling it Potter?" Voldemort hissed coldly. " A little venom on the tip of your dagger always does do the job well..." he laughed mercilessly as Harry slumped to the floor. He tried desperately to keep his eyes open and his wand from slipping through his fingers. He was in a vulnerable state, there was not much he could do.

" You should be dead within an hour, Harry," he said, " But let me take the pain from you now. I'll make it all end. You'll never be hurt again. Say goodbye." he raised his wand and pointed it to Harry's heart. His merciless grin had returned, but at this point, Harry didn't care. He couldn't care. His mind was slipping...

As Voldemort bellowed the killing curse at him, Harry instinctively raised his arm up to shield his face. He waited for the cold thrill of death to come upon him, his heart beating violently against his ribs. But the blast never came. Instead more infuriated screams and wails went of up from the evils that stood before him. He lowered his arm, his vision still blurry, only then noticing that his arm felt quite numb. What had happened? Shouldn't he have be been deceased by now? But as he looked upon his wrist, his question was answered. The glass face of his golden watch had been shattered, leaving shards of glass strewn across the floor. It had deflected the curse! Never had he been so grateful as to have one of his cousin's old belongings. He couldn't help but let a small smile appear on his face.

With a rush of new hope, Harry got to his feet. The effects of the venom seemed to leave him as he gripped his wand tightly. He was now prepared to put an end to this duel. As Voldemort raised his wand, Harry did the same. Both wizards then screamed, "Crucio!" the spells collided in mid-air and evaporated.

Again, they simultaneously raised their wands. But before Voldemort could even open his mouth, Harry had shouted his curse. They were words that had never left his lips before, and hopefully never again. It was a curse used on him many times, yet he himself had never uttered it. It was the killing curse. A brilliant green flash of light was expelled from his wand, and before he knew it, Voldemort was sprawled out on the ground before him, though he was not dead. Harry's spell had not been powerful enough to kill him, but just enough that it made his attempts to get to his feet futile. After a minute or two his struggles stopped. He laid there on the stone cold floor, breathing heavily. As the Death Eaters cursed and gasped in horror, Harry cautiously walked over to his once powerful enemy. His red eyes were blank, almost completely overcome by the horrifying effect of death. Blood still spurted from them and ran down his cheek, making it seem as if he had cried painful red tears. But Harry felt no remorse for what he had done. As far as he was concerned Voldemort had gotten what he deserved. A morbid feeling of satisfaction had become present within his heart as his opponent's breaths became shallow.

Harry's eyes then darted to each of his hands. The right one was held open, letting the wand it had controlled slip uselessly to the floor. The other was loosely clutching the venomous dagger that had maimed Harry. With an angry grimace Harry snatched the dagger from him and held it tight with rage and determination.

Voldemort then let out a listless laugh. " Even if you kill me kill Harry, it does not insure that you will live. The venom will surely dispose of you eventually, that is, if my Death Eaters don't get to you first. So go ahead, kill me. My Death Eaters will avenge me. My reign of terror will not end with my death!"

Harry didn't want to listen anymore. He raised the dagger, then thrust it downward. The dagger speared Voldemort right through the heart. Within seconds he was lifeless, his cold blood seeping to the floor. Harry pulled the dagger out violently as the Death Eaters became wild with rage. They rushed from where they stood towards Harry, aiming dozens of spells at him. He then jumped over his enemy's lifeless body, up the rows of stone steps and through one of the many doorways, the Death Eaters on his heels.

**A/N:** Chapter 3 coming soon...


	3. Chapter 3

The black doorway had led him into a room also possessing dark memories of his fifth year. As he ducked behind a tank filled with water-logged brains, a spell missed scorching his neck by millimeters. He raced around to the other side of the tank and aimed a Cruciatus Curse at the Death Eaters. It was too dark to see whom he had hit, but he could have sworn the scream that followed was that of Lucious Malfoy.

The next thing he saw was a bright flash of light coming from one of the Death Eaters wand's. Harry got down on the floor and shielded his eyes as the spell crashed into the tank, completely shattering it. His back was drenched with water as he uncovered his eyes and looked upon his foes. They were presently wrestling with brains that had attached themselves to their faces, giving him a perfect opportunity to escape. He got to his feet, but quickly slipped and fell painfully on the hard stone floor, both from the water and his slipping consciousness. Sparing no time, he rose from the floor and rushed through the exit door, locking it behind him. Pressing his back to the door, he slid down to a seated position. He knew it wouldn't be long until the Death Eaters were free from their bindings, but he just couldn't find the strength to run any longer. The venom was taking it's toll, slowly fogging his brain and lessening his ability to fight. It was now a mystery to him whether he would survive or not, or even how he would survive, for there was nowhere to run. Even if he made it out onto the streets, the Death Eaters would follow and dispose of him, if the venom didn't act first.

_Face it, _he thought, _you can't run anymore. You're done for. You're getting weaker by the second. You might as well just die right here and now. _

_Oh get off the floor damn you! _he thought again, _You can make this! You've survived dozens of times before so what makes now any different! Pick yourself and run! Never give up, Harry!_

As vengeful screams were renewed inside the room of Death Eaters, he opened his eyes and examined the circular hall he had just entered. But he realized it was not the first time he had been there. It was the same black hallway that had haunted his dreams two years ago, again reminding him painfully of his godfather's death. Shaking the thought out of his mind, Harry got to his feet, swaying dangerously. He had to prop himself up against the door as he looked upon the many others before him. One would lead him out to the familiar hallways of the Ministry of Magic, but which one to choose was a mystery. The doors were all identical, black and unwelcoming. Then without a warning, the hallway began to spin rapidly before him, alternating the position of the doors. Harry fell to the floor from a horrible lightheaded feeling as he remembered what he had done in this situation two years earlier.

"Where's the exit?" he screamed into the darkness. Without hesitation, the corridor ceased revolving and the door farthest Harry burst open. With his vision blurred, he jumped to his feet and ran as fast as he could out the door. Once through it, he found himself in the familiar halls of the Ministry of Magic. He then slammed the door shut behind him and pulled out his wand once more to lock it. At the end of the hall stood the motionless lifts. With his mind blank, he staggered towards them, falling into the walls beside him as he walked. He seemed as though he was losing control of his limbs. His arms felt like dead weight, not to mention his cheekbone where the dagger had struck. He walked lamely into the lift closest to him, closed the gate and pressed the button that would transport him to The Atrium. As the lift started downward, Harry's stomach plummeted. He collapsed in the corner, shielding his bloodshot eyes, all the while trying not to lose control of himself and vomit. The poison was now seeping through the remainder of his uncontaminated blood. He knew now that it was only a matter of minutes before he would inevitably die. He needed a miracle to save him now, and as he had learned, miracles were hard to come by. In a battle such as this, the only person you could depend on to help you survive was yourself, and Harry was barely able to stand, much less fight for his life.

Harry listened as the lift gate screeched open, slowly un covering his eyes. He got to his feet and walked out from the lift, trying to be as vigilant as possible with his poisoned conscious. Before him stood the brilliant Ministry waterfall, restored to it's former glory after the horrible events of his fifth year. The rattling of chains was then heard, making Harry spin around. He staggered towards the fountain as the second lift came to a stop before him. He quickly took cover behind the fountain, trying to ignore the mist of water that was chilling him into goosebumps. He watched as four hooded figures emerged from the lift, muttering inaudible words to one another. The figure closest him then raised it's wand to the ceiling, which shot up blood-red sparks and dimly illuminated the room. One by one, which a loud cracking sound, Death Eaters then Apparated into the room. There must have been at least thirty of them, the ones that had been lucky enough to escape an early death. Harry's chances of escaping death however were growing slimmer by the second. He could not run, nor could he hide. All he could do was prepare for the worst.

" Come out, Potter! We know you're in here!" he heard Lucious Malfoy shout.

" Yeah Potter, afraid to fight?" Bellatrix Lestrange's voice laughed, " Or are you just too weak to?" she then went into a paroxysm of evil chortling, her fellow Death Eaters joining in as well.


	4. Chapter 4

Harry's eyes were then engulfed in a blinding red light, sending a sharp pain through his pupils. He closed his eyes and looked downward as the light continued to shine and Death Eaters cursed and screamed. Harry then could see the red light dimming through his eyelids. He looked only to find the Death Eaters still standing before him, but unlike before they were now completely still and unmoving. Except for one. But Harry could not recognize his outline to be that of a Death Eater. It fact, the shadowy figure seemed to oddly remind him of someone he knew fairly well. His posture was terrible, and as he moved closer towards Harry, he seemed to have a very distinct limp. But it was impossible. He must be a Death Eater--or was he? Something then grabbed Harry by the arm. He whirled around to find a hooded figure grabbing him lightly, his face completely obscured. Harry tried to pull from the figure's grasp, but his hold only became stronger. Mustering all the strength he could, Harry ripped from his grasp and jumped to his feet. But the only thing this resulted in was the figure jumping up as well and seizing him by the neck of his cloak. His hold was slight, but just enough to keep Harry still. Harry's vision was now locked to the front, his cloak digging into his neck, allowing him to watch as the figure's accomplice gave him a quick nod. He then felt on odd jerking sensation in the pit of his stomach as they both were dragged upward.

Harry's heart was now pounding hard in his chest once again. Where was he being taken? And who was this hooded man? Harry closed his eyes as the odd sensation continued and the world around became darkness. But before long his feet touched the ground again. His knees gave way from the shock, sending him into a hard and painful landing on the floor. Slowly, he opened his eyes. He looked to his left, only to find the mysterious figure kneeling down beside him. Harry backed away as he raised his hand to remove his hood. Slowly his face came into vision. He was a fairly young man, his hair prematurely flecked with gray. He was wearing a fearful look of concern, a look Harry had seen many times before. The eyes he was looking into belonged to none other than Remus Lupin.

"Professor? Where are we?" Harry said weakly. It seemed as though his voice was refusing to form words.

" Yes it's me Harry. Save your voice. Come on, I'll help you up." Lupin then slowly stood, and took hold of Harry's hand. He pulled Harry slowly to his feet and helped him stand erect. Harry then looked upon his new surroundings. He was no longer in the dark corridors of the Ministry, but a well-lit hall lined with oak doors and a squeaky clean white floor.

"But Professor, how did you know where I was? Was that Mad-Eye back there? How----and where the hell are we?" Harry began, but Lupin silenced him.

" We're in St. Mungo's Harry. I couldn't take you back to the castle, you'd die for sure. You need prompt medical attention. Explanations can wait."

" No they can't! I've been left in the dark about things enough lately! I've survived this long, so I think I'll be fine for a couple more seconds! Now would you mind telling me how you knew where I was?" Harry yelled, making himself dangerously light-headed.

" All right, fine then Harry. Let me make things quick. It all starts with Ron. You see, he woke up in the middle of the night, only to find that you weren't there. He was extremely worried about this, after all you'd never go off in the middle of the night like that. So he had contacted Professor McGonagall, who then contacted the Headmaster. And by a lucky chance he just happened to be having a conference with myself and Moody. We wanted to contact the other Order members, but by that time you could be dead already. So we came to the decision to search for you ourselves, and in the place we were certain you'd be. The place that gave you so much pain, and with the people who wanted you dead."

There was then an odd silence between them, as if each was waiting for the other to say something. But just then, Harry's mind went blank again and he gave a dangerous sway, forcing Lupin to grab hold of his arm and steady him.

" All right Harry, no more delays. Let's get you fixed up then." said Lupin gently, helping Harry walk down the hall.

" Professor-"

"Yes Harry?"

" What about that Death Eaters?"

" They shall be given what they deserve. Don't dwell on them."

"Thanks Professor." he said, giving a weak smile. Lupin just grinned back at him.

Once again Harry had escaped death. It was difficult to believe that the Dark Lord was finally vanquished, but even so it gave Harry hope for the future. Hope for a different lifestyle, one that would serve him well. He also simply couldn't wait to return to Hogwarts and see his friend's shining faces, and to tell them that himself, and they were finally safe.


End file.
